The Rest of the Story

We've been home now for a couple weeks and I feel that I must complete this story.

On Thursday, while the rest of the team organized, inventoried, and packed our remaining supplies for our next trip, Leslie and I met with 160 women from 6 of Pere Kerwin's 7 missions to introduce them to Daughters of the King. I attended as an interested observer, photographer, and cheerleader for Leslie. She did a great job describing DOK and the US chapters at Christ Church and St. Mary and St. Martha's interest in serving as prayer partners for their new chapters. One of the women from the Haiti DOK Board gave a very spirited speech in which she invoked the power of women several times. She told the women that they should organize and solve their problems themselves, rather than  always seeking Pere Kerwin's assistance. The women from each mission volunteered to serve on each local board and elected officers. During the next few months, they will study and prepare for their induction into their newly formed DOK chapters.

Following the DOK meeting and Eucharist, which rocked with enthusiastic singing and spirited music, Leslie and I joined the others.

Later in the afternoon, several of us walked with our translator Watson out to the beach where we saw the ships coming in from LaGonave with the loads of charcoal and livestock. The boats are wooden sailing ships, which are laden with people, animals, and supplies. I always feel like I'm in a geography book when I see this sight! We were caught in a storm and arrived back at the guesthouse ready for dry clothes and a Prestige.

On Friday, we traveled to Jacmel, which is a tourist town (as much as there is one in Haiti). It has beautiful architecture and is known for its carnival before Lent (like Mardi Gras). We met a guide in town, and traveled over the Jacmel River (really through the river!) then up a mountain, where we parked in a dirt lot. We were met by other guides, and agreed to take 3 more with us on our trek to Baisson Bleu (The Bleu Waterfall). With 8 more (not the requested 3 more) guides, we headed off walking further up the mountain. We arrived at the first of the 3 pools and Steve S. and Daphne decided to sit there and wait for us. There was a young woman there washing her clothes (and later bathing) as they waited for the rest of us. We continued our trek up the mountain until we reached a narrow ledge at which point we had to remove our shoes and rappel down the cliff to the pool. This is where those extra guides came in handy! One was directly behind me as I climbed down the cliff with the aid of the rope. It was worth the effort and fright! We were rewarded with the sight of a gorgeous waterfall and a refreshing swim. Some of us climbed to the first rock and jumped.

A few brave  (Julia) and foolhardy (Kerwin and Fred) scampered (Julia and the guides scampered) and lumbered (that would be Kerwin and Fred) to the top of the waterfall. The guides dove off the rocks and our group jumped with various levels of grace and athleticism. It was great fun! We're looking forward to repeating this fieldtrip next year.

We trekked back to our vehicles with Steve S and Daphne in tow. Then we headed to the beach, with Kerwin's vehicle getting stuck in a dry tributary of the Jacmel River when he took a wrong turn. After extracting Kerwin's vehicle from the sand, we continued to the beach. The weather was beautiful, the water was bath water warm, the Prestige on the beach was cold, and the grilled fish and other food was delicious. A fabulous time was had by all. This was the perfect end to a wonderful week of service.

Saturday, we headed to the airport early. Some of us said farewell in Miami as we left to head back to our homes. Others of us had one last meal together at the airport, before going our separate ways.

Jasmin, Part Dieux

  

It rained like crazy last night, so the travel up the mountain was a little more interesting than the previous two trips this week. Our big truck fish tailed at one point, so we all moved to the back of the truck to have more weight on the back wheels. That was a little scary. Some people had to got out of the little truck and walked the rest of the way up the mountain - Leslie, Daphne, Julia, and Alex proved that they are the fittest of the group!

A large group was awaiting us when we finally arrived. Since our patients this day come from farther up the mountain and walk up to 4 hours one way to reach us, I always am a little embarrased that they arrive before we do. As in the previous visits, we found our patients today to be in relatively poorer health than those from the less remote areas the prior days. One of the most frustrating things about our trips is that no matter how carefully we plan, we always seem to run out of meds on the third day. Today was no different. This meant that our docs had to be a little creative with their prescriptions towards the end of the day.  Despite this, everyone left with meds to treat their particular symptoms.

One of the things that we noticed this trip was the markedly decreased incidence of std's. Of course, we attribute this to the fact that people are now getting treatment and, therefore, are less likely to continue spreading the diseases throughout their communities. The many condoms we distributed probably helped quite a bit, also!

We saw more than 250 patients today. By 3:00, I think we were all ready to see the last patients, but they just kept coming! Our dentist saw about 18 patients. At one point, he had 8 people waiting for treatment. Unfortunately, we ran out of the cloth medicine bags, so the last several patients had to be content with gallon size zip lock bags. I hated that since everyone loves the colorful bags.

Our patient who presented Daphne with the sweet potatoes yesterday, returned today with avocados from her tree. Madame Anastasia also returned with avocados and pumpkins for us. The generosity of people who have so little material things is overwhelming.

Before we left, we presented the many dresses which the Christ Church sewing group had made, and the t-shirts which many people had purchased for the boys at the school. Hopefully, on our next trip, we will see some of them being worn.

We said good-bye to our translators and nursing students today. One of our translators, Peterson, is quite the entrepreneur, and sells Haitian crafts. Many of us bought jewelry, wood work, and paintings from him. Our friend, Mario, another person who works at the hospital, sells Haitan vanilla. He came around when we returned today, also, So, of course, we supported his enterprise, as well.

Alex treated us to Haitian rum and "wine" tonight. The spirits livened up our after dinner conversation despite our being pretty tired after the long day. Tomorrow we get to "sleep in" a little before some of us will meet with the women from Pere Kerwin's 7 parishes to discuss Daughters of the King and starting chapters at each parish.

I though you might like a look at Haiti's famous traffic. So, here you go.

Finally, this is why we are here.

Jasmin Clinic - Part 1

After a fabulous breakfast of pancakes, bananas, and mango (with a little mamba a - peanut butter -thrown in for some protein), we headed up the mountain to Jasmin for our first day of clinics there. The Jasmin community was waiting for us. Our clinic starts with prayer led by Pere Kerwin. It always touches me to see everyone stand no matter how sick they may be. Haitian people pray with a ferventness which I have not expereienced elsewhere.

We saw many familar faces, most of whom carried their medical records from the prior clinics with them. The mom with the newborn twins last year, returned with them this year! The age of many of the patients is striking.Our oldest today was 95! Amazing, especially considering that the average mortality in Haiti is 49. It seems weird, but I think the isolation of the community has something to do with it. Jasmin is made up of two main family groups - names which we saw over and over today.

The health of our patients was generally worse than those we saw yesterday. Surprisingly because of the relative lack of mosquitos at the higher elevation, we saw a good amount of malaria. We had a large number of kids with ring worm and several people with asthma, including one woman who was carried to see us. We had breathing treatments with us, so she was treated immediately. She improved somewhat, but was still very sick. Unfortunately, she had no way to reach a hospital. At some point, with her friends supporting her, she left.

We gave the books we had brought to the headmaster. The kids who got to see them, were thrilled with them, even though they were in English. I showed a little girl the Dr. Seuss book, Theres' a Wocket in my Pocket, and she seemed to think "wocket" was just as funny as my kids did at her age. Dr. Suess has universal appeal!

While we worked in the clinic, the contruction crew was hard at work on the school buildings. There were at least 30 men and women working on the site all day. It was thrilling to see! When I talked with some of the kids about their new school, their faces just lit up!

We were a well oiled machine today, and saw about 200 patients before 3:00. Our dentist saw 20 patient today, so there are at least 20 fewer teeth in Jasmin tonight. Our patients seemed excited about the salt we brought to them. We explained about the filiriasis prevention, but I really think they were just excited to receive a pound of salt at no charge. We are excited about salt with the Filiriasis preventative. Filiriasis is a horrible disease, which attacks the lymph system and can incapacitate the victim. Distributing the salt is so inexpensive for such a positive result. In addition, the salt is iodized, which is unusual in Haiti, and will contribute to the overall better health of the community.

Steve Steinberg has had a very successful couple days manning the eye glass station. Today, some people even brought the glasses they had received at our other clinics to trade for a stonger pair this time. Thanks to those of you who donated glasses and to the Lions Club! Our community has no other chance to get glasses.

Our clinic day closed, with Daphne's friend from last year presenting her with another gift - this time it was a huge sack of freshly dug sweet potatoes. We brought them back with us and enjoyed some with our dinner tonight.

When we returned to the guesthouse, we had a little time and energy remaining, so we strolled around the St. Croix grounds to show the newbies the St. Croix buildings post-quake and describe the pre-quake set up. Since our spring trip, several new temporary buldings have been erected by the same Finnish NGO which is building the Jasmin permanent building and built the temporary building at Gressier. A young man was putting the finishing touches on some signs painted on trees while we were there. They seem ready for school to begin next week.

Following our dinner, Andy and Graham played their ukeleles while the rest of us sung rousing choruses of My Girl, Country Roads, Up on the Roof (complete with a little shag demonstration by Steve and me), and other perennial favorites. This made the pill cutting and packaging fly by.

We're ready for our second day in Jasmin!

Monday at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques, Gressier

As you can imagine, sitting around cutting, packaging, and labeling pills allow for varied conversations among the group. Sharing coffee before beginning our day, does so, as well. This morning, a few of us were up early and talked about the value of our medical and dental care to the communities we serve. Our Gressier community has the opportunity to get medical care in Leogane, about a 45 minute drive away. Of course, that access is limited by financial resources, including the funds for transporation, as well as care and the presecriptions. The Jasmin community where St. Joseph's is located (and where we will have clinics on Tuesday and Wednesday) has no access to other care. The communty's remote location as well as the extreme poverty of the people contribute to this situation.

The churches ask that the patients pay about 25 cents for the care they receive. There is no charge for the medicine. If someone cannot pay, then they are not turned away.

Despite the care and the overall improvement in the health of the communities, our coffee group agreed with Steve Steinberg when he declared that the most important thing that we bring to our communities is love. Our repeated trips allow both us and our patients to recognize and enthusiastically great each other. I remember when I met with the Bishop Duracin, Bishop of the Diocese of Haiti, when Christ Church was deciding whether to enter into a partnership relationship with St. Joseph's. Bishop Duracin told me then, that the relationship is more important than any money that we can send.

One of the high points today was enjoying the pumpkin soup which Madame Laborde prepared for our group  of more than 20 for lunch. When I wandered over during a lull in the pharmacy action, Madame Laborde was not in the house. After I ate, I sought her out to thank her for the wonderful meal. I thought she'd squeeze me to death, as we hugged each other hello (a southern and Haitian tradition for you Minnesotans reading this post). While our lives are very different, we have connected.

Our clinic saw about 200 patients today, and our dentist treated 12 patients (at least 12 teeth were pulled!) The heath seemed generally worse today than during our spring trip. We attributed this to our being at the end of the rainy season, with much higher incidences of malaria and scabies.  As is often the case, we saw several people with very high blood pressure and various infections. We are able to treat chronic issues such as high blood pressure and diabetes with a 6 month supply of medication and have an arrangement with our Haitian doctor to visit our patients again in three months to adjust meds as needed.

One little girl, whom we had seen before, asked specifically for one of the knitted bears from St. Mary and St. Martha. I was excited to be able to fulfill her wish. The medicine bags were greatly appreciated and are so  much nicer (and environmentally freindly) packaging than a plastic bag. Since the kids were not in school yet, we gave the photos of the children from the last trip to the headmaster to distribute to the children when school begins

Several members of the Port au Prince Daughters of the King chapter journeyed to Gressier to meet with Leslie and me this morning. Unfortunately, because of the clincs, we had only a few minutes to greet them and talk about the meeting planned for Thursday to introduce Pere Kerwin's 7 parishes to DOK.

Tomorrow we are off to Jasmin, where 200 people have signed up for clinics each day and there is a request that we return for a third day of clinics on Thursday. We will have to see whether we have meds available for that before we commit.

Worshipping in Haiti

The internet at the guesthouse was not working Sunday, so I could not post Sunday. That allowed some time for reflection. Worship at St. Joseph's is a joyous affair, full of lively music and enthusiastic preaching. The sermon is a two part affair. Just as Pere Kerwin is getting wound up, he takes a break and the congregation enthusiastically sings as the keyboard player and choir director leads the group. Maxo, our lay leader, leads the singing. The service was about 2.5 hours long, followed by a time for fellowship in which we shared our customary coconuts.

One of the greatest things on Sunday was seeing the progress on the school buldings. There are two large buildings being constucted behind the church. Each building will have three large rooms, each of which can be divided into two classrooms for a total of 12 classrooms. In addition, there will be a biofuel latrine. The resulting fuel will be used in the kitchen which is also being built. It is a miraculous to see! The 340 students at the school have been attending classes inside the church building and in the yard under tarps. Having actual school buldings, which are earthquake and hurrican proof is such a gift to these students. Thanks to the donations at Christ Church and the generosity of the Finnish Church Foundation, our students will soon have buildings which will be much more conducive to learning. The buildings are scheduled to be completed in February 2012. I really believe that none of this would have happened had the earthquake not occurred - at least not on this same time table.

Unfortuately, our students cannot attend classes at our church during the construction, so Maxo and Jean (the headmaster) are desperately seeking land they can rent to use until the buildings are complete. The plan is to erect tarps on the land and have school in a less than ideal temporary setting. School is set to start a week from today. We are to get a further report tomorrow.

One of the other great things that has come from the construction project is employment for many people in the community. There are no jobs in the remote area where our school is located, so this is truly a God send for the entire community.

We've arrived!

We arrived safe and sound with little issues in either the Miami or Port au Prince airports. We loaded into 2 vehicles (Kerwin's mini-van and the hospital's land cruiser) with our bags in the back of a pick up truck (all 34 of them!)Just as in the spring, the bags were covered with a tarp, apparently now sop. We rested some, unpacked, organized, and repacked the bags dividing items into Gressier and Jasmin bags, and started packaging meds. We had a great late lunch of pumpkin soup, mamba (peanut butter) on bread or crackers, and pineapple. Kerwin just arrived with the left over meds from the spring trip, as well as all the new medicine he purchased here for this trip. So, we have our work cut out for us sorting, packaging,and labeling tonight and tomorrow after church. Fred enjoyed the first Prestige for our team.
Steve F. quickly followed. Until tomorrow......

We're off!

After much packing, now up to 13- 50 pound bags from Atlanta (yes, we will be paying extra!), at least 5 from Minneapolis, 1 from New Orleans, and 1 from California, plus our carry on bags for our personal stuff, we're ready for our trip. Thanks to everyone who rallied together and supplied more vitamins this week! Hopefully, we will have enough for all our patients to have a 6 month supply. I think it will be like the loaves and fishes, and we will be fine. The Atlanta group is meeting up later afternoon and we will wing our way to Miami to meet up with the rest of our team. Please keep us and everyone in Haiti in your prayers. Terry

Haiti Pilgrimage, Sept 23 - Oct 1, 2011

A message to Christ Church, Norcross as printed in our September Communique - As I've been preparing for the upcoming Haiti pilgrimage to St. Joseph's, I have been reflecting on "compassion". One dictionary defines compassion as "a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another's suffering or misfortune, accompanied by a desire to alleviate the pain or remove its cause".  Unfortunately, many Americans seem to have lost their ability to feel compassion for their fellow human beings. Christ Church, however, is made up of people who feel the suffering of their Haitian brothers and sisters and respond with open hearts and hands.

 

Our work in Haiti, and this pilgrimage, is the perfect example of the joy of stewardship - the giving of one's time, talent, and treasure. Many of you have provided in so many ways. From our sewing guild which has made little dresses and medicine bags, to those of you who have provided t-shirts, medicine, vitamins, glasses, and other supplies for the trip, everything you have given is a valuable contribution and will be greatly appreciated by our mission partner.

 

Our team, which includes Daphne Gary, Leslie Freeman, Steve, and I, as well as Karen Murphy from St. Mary and Martha in Buford, will be joining our Minnesota friends from St. John's, including doctors Dianne and Andy, teacher  Fred, and Andy's med-student niece Julia. In addition, our journalist friend, Steve from New Orleans, and Dianne's son Graham, a budding musician in LA will be part of our team. Our Haitian team members include Dr. Alex (returning for his 3rd time with us!), Dentist Emmanuel (2d time with us), four nursing students, and our translators. We hope to see many of the same nuring students and translators who have helped us in the past. Julia, Graham, and Fred will be traveling with us for the first time.

 

Our team from near and far will meet in Miami on Sept. 23, and travel together to Port au Prince the morning of the 24th. We will celebrate Eucharist at St. Joseph's Sunday morning.  Our clinics will be Monday at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques (St. John's partner) and Tuesday and Wednesday at St. Joseph's. We anticipate seeing about 600 patients again and are taking adequate medical supplies with us (or purchasing them in Haiti) to serve those needs.

 

We have two new events this trip. On Thursday, Leslie will meet with the women of St. Croix (Pere Kerwin's mother church), St. Phillipe and St. Jacques, and St. Joseph's to discuss the formation of Daughters of the King chapters at each of their missions. The rest of us will meet with the children and staff at our respective schools to practice English with them.

 

Friday, we have time for a little rest and relaxation and anticipate a beach trip, before returning to our homes Saturday. Dianne will be staying with us for a week  when we return - her first trip to Georgia! 

 

The Christ Church pilgrims will talk about our trip  during the services on October 9. 

 

For friends and family who are following our travels and would like to donate to support our work in Haiti, please visit the Christ Church website, http://www.ccnorcross.org/, where you can donate on-line. Please indicate that the donation is for the Haiti designated fund. If you prefer to donate by check, please mail your check payable to Christ Church and noting Haiti in the memo line, to the attention  of Elaine at 400 Holcomb Bridge Rd, Norcross, GA 30092. Your donations, which are tax deductible, are greatly appreciated and will be used to directly support the St. Joseph's school and mobile medical clinics.

 

Similarly, friends of St. John's who would like to donate to their work at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques, may visit their website at http://www.stjohns-mpls.org/ or mail a donation to 4201 Sheridan Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN 55410.

 

Please pray for our safe and successful journey.

 

Terry Franzen, Christ Church, Norcross

The Final Day

Dianne asked for coconut milk!

Unbelievably, we are completing our last full day in Haiti. It seems like a million years since our arrival in Miami a week ago. Our last day was spent in Jacmel, on the southern coast of the country. The ride there is half the fun, as we went up and down the mountains and made a refreshment stop at St. Etienne along the way. Hopefully, these photos will allow you to see some of the beauty of the country. If you are called to join us on our next trip September 23-October 1, contact Dianne or me! Terry

Bauman family - Ward,  daughter Suzanne, and sister Karen

Kids along the Jacmel road

Jacmel Beach

A little relaxation for Gwen, Bob, Russ, and Suzanne

Visits to Schools and Leogane Walking Tour

The 340 students at St. Joseph's - Jasmin

What a day! We started with a quick ride through Leogane to the Episcopal Nursing School where we toured the school and met with Hilda Alcindor the Director. Carole reported to Hilda that all of our students were professional and an asset to the team.

Nursing students studying diligently

The MN contingent (plus Suzanne)  stayed at St. P and St. J where Russ and Bill taught English to the seventh graders and Dianne and Suzanne read and conversed one-on-one with the students.  The remainder of the group traveled up the mountain to Jasmin, where I met with the teachers, and completed the task which Bill had started earlier in the week of photographing each of the staff. Bill had already taken a picture of each child. Our plan is to print and laminate each photo and bring them when we return in September. You cannot imagine the joy that a child (or an adult) gets in seeing a photo of themselves! We could spend hours just taking pictures and showing them to the person.



Dianne, the teacher


Several people have asked about the water accessibility at each school. St. P and St. J has a well, which the kids are able to operate, as you can see. St. J, being high in the mountains, has no well, but the people must walk further up the mountain, then down the side of the mountain to the spring (about a 30 minute walk one way) and then carry the water to the Pure Water biosand filter at the school. The church has a gutter which funnels water to a cistern during the rainy season.

The well at St. Phillppe and St. Jacques

Clean water at St.Joseph's

After picking up the MN folks, we headed back to the guesthouse for a short rest before calling Peterson, one of our interpreters, who had promised to take us to the Voodoo Center for a tour. As it turns out, only one room in the large building has anything to do with Voodoo. A Voodoo priest showed us his room, which included an altar with various icons. He dressed in his ceremonial robes and told us a little of the beliefs.

Voodoo Priest

Then, we headed through town to the beach, where we saw the boats which take people and merchandise to and from the island of LaGonave. They were unloading cows and pigs which they threw off the boats into the water. Who knew that a huge pig could swim!

Haitian bateaus

Along the way, we toured a rum distillery!

Distiller in action

As we left the shore, we came upon a large gated community, which was formerly a resort, and now houses an orphanage and school which is run by the Church of Christ and Gain. We met a German woman and Spanish man who are volunteering there and got a quick tour and then a ride back for dinner.

This is a fascinating week to be in Haiti, with the Presidential runoff election being Sunday. Aristide is supposed to be arriving back from exile today or tomorrow and there are large banners welcoming him. There are trucks with loud speakers traveling through the streets playing music and announcements in support of Martelly, who seems to be the front runner. Apparently, the US is supporting Martaget, as President Clinton was in a photo with her on the front page of a local paper. Then, of course,there is the Aba (down with)  Preval graffiti which is omnipresent.

Tomorrow we are traveling to Jacmel , which over the mountains on the coast on the other side of Haiti. This will be my third trip there and I'm looking forward to a fun day.





Wednesday at Jasmin

Kids on the road to Jasmin with their homemade toy





Top of the morning to you from Haiti! Yesterday, we returned to Jasmin for our second day of clinics. Many people from Kerwin's even more remote parish, St. Nicholas, came to our clinic. St. Nicholas is about a 3.5 hour walk further up the mountain from St. Joseph's at Jasmin. Our patients reported walking 2-4 hours (one way!) to get to us. This included one 22 year old woman, who walked two hours one way so that her day old baby could be examined by a doctor.

The clinic saw 220 people and our dentist treated (extracted teeth!) from 25 people. Again, the differences in the health of the different communities was very evident. We saw many more people who had high blood pressure (some quite extreme who required immediate treatment), ring worm, other parasites, and more extreme malnutrition. There were many elderly who reported that they have a hard time climbing the mountains! Doctor Bob replied, "I do, too!"

Triage - Carol and her nursing students

Pharmacy - Gwen, Russ and I hard at work

When we returned to the guesthouse, we organized, counted, and repacked the leftover supplies and meds for our next trip in September. We will be so organized! So, for those of you planning ahead, we need glasses (reading of all strengths), tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap, cloth bags for the meds (11x14 size would be awesome!), and liquid tears. We have plenty of the various creams. There is a huge need for glasses to see at a distance (is that near sighted, or far sighted?). So, if anyone can figure out if there is a way to accomplish that in Haiti, please let Dianne or me know. We also could use an eye chart for testing the reading glasses and distance glasses - pictures, not letters.

We have arranged with our Haitian doctor Alex, to return to our communities in May to test the blood pressure of those whom we treated, and to adjust their medication accordingly. Another small step to sustainable Haitian staffed health care for our communities.

Today, we are going back up the mountain to visit the schools.

First Two Days of Clinics

The dolls are a hit!

I was too tired to write last night after a full day at St. P and St. J and then preparation for today (yes, more pill cutting and pouring!) So, I will recap the last two days, as best I can.

First, let me thank everyone who contriburted to our trip, with your prayers, and your donations of dolls, eye glasses, soap, shampoo, tooth brushes, tooth paste, medicine bags, plastic baggies for packaging, and various medicines. I'm sure that I am leaving out something, but just know that we are using everything that you sent and that the people in both comunities are very grateful for what we have brought to make their lives just a little better.

Monday, we spent the day in Gressier at St. P and St. J. We saw about 180 patients, many of whom we had seen before, and some of whom even returned with their patient record! As in the past, we found the people of Gressier to be in generally better health than those in Jasmin, where we saw about 210 patients today. The difference in the health of the two communities is remarkable, despite the relatively short distance between the two. The biggest difference is that Jasmin is more remote (further up the mountain from Gressier) and the people there have no access to other medical care. Those in Gressier are closer to the main road leading to Leogane where Hopital St. Croix is located or to the  Doctors without Borders facility on the main road in Gressier. In addition, there are other teams who serve the Gressier community.

The complaints in both communities included respiratory and gastric issues, high blood pressure, and parasites. In Gressier, we saw several cases of diabetes, but none in Jasmin. We saw much more high blood pressure, with more severe cases in Jasmin. The kids are generally more malnourished in Jasmin (again due to the remoteness and relatively less income) and there are many more cases of scabies and worms in Jasmin than in Gressier. Another distinct difference between the two populations is the greater number of older people we saw in Jasmin, as compared to Gressier.

The schools were both in session when we arrived. St. P and St. J (Gressier) meets in a new "temporary" building which replaced the bulding destroyed in the quake. St. Joseph's (Jasmin) continues to meet in the church building and in the yard as it did not have a school building for the quake to destroy. Both churches were heavily damaged and the St. P and St. J bulidng has been demolished, while the St. J church building is standig precariously, while we all pray that another quake or aftershock does not totally destroy it.

Both schools have the opportunity for a permanent bulding to be constructed by a foundation related to the Finnish Lutheran Church. These projects are dependent upon the purchase of the land for the buildings. In each case, we have been told that the owner (different people) will sell for $5500. I examined the land proposed for St. Joseph's today. It is quite a large piece of land behind the church (currently occupied by a banana orchard). The plan is to build the school at the back of the property and then have a playground for the kids between the church and the school. This would be an amazing improvement over the kids learning under a tarp and croweded into the church building. The school serves 300 children from pre-K through 6th grades and is the only school in the community. When we explored the possibility of building a school building before the quake, we were quoted $20,000 -$25,000 for the contruction only, so to have that bulding donated would be an amazing gift. If you are moved to donate to the fund to purchase the land, you may do so by donating to Christ Episcopal Church, Norcross, GA, for Jasmin, or St. John's Episcopal Church, Minneapolis, MN for Gressier.  Please indicate Haiti School Land Purchase in your donation. Please know that your funds will be put to the use you specify.

We unexpectantly had the opportunity for a Haitian dentist to travel to both communities with us. Of course, we said, "yes!". Despite the lack of publicity, he saw 8 patients on Monday and 17 today. His presence is now expected in Jasmin, so we anticipate an even bigger demand for his help tomorrow.

Everyone agreed that today was an easier day than yesterday, despite the higher number of patients. We had more space and more experience! Tomorrow should be even better when we return to Jasmin for another day of clinic.

Our Haitian Dr. Alex

Our newest team member - a Haitian dentist - starts to work



 


 


Team prepares to travel to Gressier Monday morning



Kids of St. Phillippe and St. Jacques (Gressier)

The land for the school at Jasmin

The children of St. Joseph's (Jasmin)



Sunday in Haiti

Sunday morning began at 2AM when we were awakened by a ra ra procession in the street outside the guesthouse. Awakening from a dead sleep to the sounds of horns, drums, and a caucophony of voices is quite startling, to say the least. The ra ra only occurs during Lent and is the antithesis of Lent.Our understanding is that different voodoo priests lead the processions and the one with the most followers is the most popular. We were also told that there is some Roman Catholic connection. We have been told that the processions are only on the weekends, only on Thursday and Saturday nights, and everynight. So, we shall see what happens tonight! Many of our group went up on the roof to watch and reported a fantastic sight of people dancing with large masks and torches. So, next time I hear the music, I'm heading up to the roof!

Many of us next awoke at 5AM. Of course, we intended to wake at 6. Our phones changed to daylight savings time, but Haiti did not! So, we had time for lots of wonderful coffee and some reading and chatting.

We strolled around the St. Croix complex before we left for church at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques. The improvements at St. Croix are remarkable since last fall. Much of the rubble has been cleared, the church is now under a tin roof rather than in the open air, and there is a temporary structure for the school courtesy of the Finnish Lutheran Church, which also rebuilt the school at St. P and St. J. Kerwin and his family now have a small wooden house in the front yard of their other home, in which Rholcie has been afraid to sleep since the quake. There are plans for further renovation and expansion of the hospital, rebuilding the church and schools with permanent structures, and rebuilding the guesthouse on the grounds, as well as a house for the families of the patients. And, there is even funding in place for some of these plans!

The congregation at St. P and St. J warmly welcomed us. I had brought the lectionary in English, and we had prayer books and hymnals in French. Of course, Kerwin's sermon and other remarks were in Creole, so our understanding was somewhat limited. The women's choir and the youth choir both sang special selections for us, including one last song in English. Unfortunately, my video skills failed me, so you will not get to hear them.

Madame Laborde, the lay leader's wife, prepared a sumptuous feast to enjoy following a meeting with the families at the school. The purpose of that meeting was to discuss how best the families could become self-sustaining with the help of the people of St. John's. The result was the formation of a seven person commission to explore the possibility of establishing a micro-credit fund.

When we returned to St. Croix, we continued our pill cutting, medicine pouring, labeling, and sorting. We are well prepared for our patients tomorrow. We expect 150-200 people. Our Haitian doctor arrived tonight and joined in the pill cutting fun. We also will be having a new element - a Haitian dentist offered to join us today. So, we will try that out tomorrow and see how it goes before committing to taking him to Jasmin with us.

Two of our translators, whom we have used before, Peterson and Valerie, came for a short visit to welcome us and touch base before tomorrow. It was great to see them both. Since our last visit, Peterson's wife has had their first baby - a boy named Peter - whom Peterson promises to bring to visit before we leave.

I think that today was a very successful day. The team is working well together in various groups, and Bob and Russ are providing our comedic relief. On to tomorrow!

PS - Nina, here's a photo of Bob in action!

Gwen relaxing after an early wake up call!

Most of the group







The reason I go to Haiti

Pere Kerwin and a young parishioner





We have arrived!

We just finished a wonderful dinner and are continuing our drug preparation for our clinics. Today has been long, but successful. We are finally all together now that we are at the guesthouse. Last night, everyone except Bill, convened in Miami. We had a fun dinner together (minus Karen and Suzanne) who had not yet arrived from CA. (and yes, we are obsessed with food!) We caught up with each other and made new friends.

Today started early - 4:30am - as we had the early flight to PAP. Gwen and I had taken our 5 gigantic bags and 2 carryons to the hotel after the airline would not check them through. Luckily the others checked them at the airport. Otherwise, we would never have fit all the bags into the van for the ride. The checkin was the smoothest ever. Then, we ate a quick bite, filled our water bottles, and hoped aboard.

When we arrived in PAP, again, it was amazingly smooth. We found all our bags - no problem- loaded them onto carts, got through immigration and security without a hitch, found our contact with a sign "Dianne Pizey", after Kerwin found us in baggage, then off we walked along the long path to the cars. With Kerwin with us, we were able to avoid the problem with many people trying to help with our bags. We just continued on with the carts and only 4 helpers, then loaded the vehicles (4!) and off we went.

The ride through PAP was extremely calm, very little traffic compared to the past trips. Things look much better than last trip. The rubble is being cleaned up and there is new construction. We passed a large field close the the airport with many, many new homes bult by Samaritan's Purse. We saw a new large Catholic church close to the old fallen down cathedral. The palace is still in the same state, and there are still thousands of people living in tent cities, but overall things seemed better.

I rode with Hebert, the same person whom I rode with many times last trip. It was wonderful to see him again. Both his English and my Creole have improved so we we could talk a lttle more.

The road out to Leogane has been repaired and again, things seem to be better. When we arrived at the guesthouse at Hopital Ste. Croix, we were greeted by the current managers, Bob and Robin who are from Ft. Worth. They are doing a great job! The same cooks are here and Dianne and I happily greeted the head cook, Jeanine.

Kerwin reported that his brother Roosnel was released from the hospital yesterday after suffering a head injury in a motorcycle accident in PAP about 12 days ago. We were thrilled to hear that. He still has a long recovery, but hopefully, over time he will make a full one.

We spent the afternoon organizing our supplies, and packaging meds. More of the same tonight! We have a new member of our group - Delia, from Toronto. She was here working on a Fuller project building houses, met Bill who was here this week doing the same, and now she's part of our group!

Tomorrow we're off to church at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques! Then, of course, more med preparation!

Pill sorting fun

See, I told you the food is great

Bon Swa!